There are some brand new tracks showing up in Long Pond Park, but unfortunately, they aren't from a new, exciting species of animal.

The tracks are laid down by All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) that are being ridden illegally through the Richmond Valley parkland. The vehicles' drivers are grinding out the miles but they're also grinding up the ground and causing near-irreparable damage to the native environment.

The four-wheelers, also known as quads, are notorious for destroying fragile ecosystems by eroding soil, increasing sedimentation of streams and spreading invasive weeds, according to the Natural Trails and Water Coalition.

Their narrow tires dig ruts, which eventually form gullies several feet deep after heavy rains, according to the group's study. With the top soil depleted, stream sedimentation begins to destroy the habitat of marine life as well.

Those degenerative processes are already well on their way to permanently corrupting Long Pond Park and if left unattended, could even affect adjacent Mount Loretto.

"Access points have to be identified and sealed first. And then we have to work on restoring the trails," said Hillel Lofaso, President of the Protectors of Pine Oak Woods. "It's going to be a long-term effort. Years. But the city did not buy this park so that it could be destroyed by ATVs."

With the support of Staten Island Parks Commissioner Thomas Paulo, Lofaso took a first step toward that goal last night. He and other Protectors advisors met with a contingent of local residents to form a Friends of Long Pond Park group to help "steer the park to a more stable, rehabilitated state."

The first task is to close off the perimeter of the preserve. It won't be easy, because much of the outlying land abuts private property and dead-end streets that provide unofficial entry.

"Parks always invites the opportunity for community members to take ownership of their parks and we look forward to working with them," said a Parks Department representative of the new group. The hope is that educating neighbors about the rules of the park will help mitigate the illegal use of ATVs in the area.

There is another side to the coin, however, as the ever-growing ATV community is clamoring for a place to rock and roll.

"Growing up on Staten Island, we used to have a lot of places to ride, and for these kids now it has become much more stringent," said Mario Constagliola, owner of the Staten Island Power Sports dealership in Charleston. "The closest park that most of us go to is down in South Jersey about an hour and a half away."

The New Springville resident was in no way advocating illegal activity, but he understands why the riders are increasingly taking to the local parks.

"They've kept it few and far between for legal riding areas," he said, recalling a particular individual who attempted to work an ATV park into the redesign of Fresh Kills Park, but met with too many obstacles.

Constagliola thinks that a sanctioned site to ride and race would greatly reduce the number of illegal riders.